allAfrica.com: Uganda: Don't Sweep Street Kid Problem Under Carpet (Page 1 of 1)

In June I was in Lira and boarded a bus shortly after 4.00a.m. to make sure of a seat for the first trip to return to Kampala.

In the half-light outside, a boy, about eight or nine, was playing with an improvised trolley made out of wire he'd probably twisted into shape himself.

The bus crew, not exactly the gentlest of people, good-naturedly let him be as they waited outside in the street. What was this child doing out alone so early, and why wasn't he fast asleep at home?

He is one of the more than 100 street children of Lira. The day before, I had been speaking with one of the senior teachers in a leading primary school in the town about the state of education in the IDP camps; he had told me he looks after a group of street children who have set up residence opposite the school entrance. He has gained their confidence, listens to their stories and gives them food, not money.

Given the crisis the North has endured, it's surprising there aren't more; a credit to the institution of the extended family.

Lira has all kinds of notice boards and signposts along Kampala Road, pointing towards NGOs and charitable organisations, many of them dealing with youth, children, empowerment, reconciliation and reconstruction. But I couldn't find any that served as what in Kenya are known as 'drop-in' centres -where street children are picked up from the street and voluntarily go along for a meal, a good wash and scrub, and to make new friends, until they are decent and 'civilised' enough to join the 'reception centre'. This centre then tries to reconcile them with their families within a limited time, so the boys don't come to consider it a 'home' or orphanage where they can spend the next few years.

The challenge is to reunite the boys with their parents who abused them physically or sexually, or used them for child labour, or starved them, and to get the parents to promise to improve.

I did, however, hear of an organisation in the town that looks after street children during the day time, though it's not a reception centre, and I didn't have time to pay a visit.

Lira's street kids are mainly but not exclusively boys, as happens everywhere. Girls are at particular risk, and invariably end up as prostitutes. Perhaps surprisingly, most are not orphans, but have run away from a dysfunctional household in the village, or have come to town in search of food. They live under tarpaulin or in bushes or any warm hiding-place they can find; they are not fussy about where they sleep. They are not hooked onto glue, as their Kenyan counterparts are, and which is deadly, but use bhang (marijuana), which reaches them from Somalia, via Moroto.

They fight each other. They go on patrol at night, and it's wise to keep away from parts of the centre of the town. Their ages range from nine to 16, but most are around 10 to 12.

They are not necessarily dangerous. They are insecure, but generally respond to genuine interest and kindness. They need someone to listen to them and, most of all, they need the affection they don't find at home, and which they look for in the gang. Better to give them food than money, with which they can buy bhang. Obviously they don't attend school.

The danger with street kids is that we get used to them, as another irritant. They mess up the view; they are an embarrassment. They also prick our consciences, because we know we should do something about them; perhaps we're not sure what we can do.

Now, there has been relative peace in the North for some time, older people are looking for ways of providing a better future for their children. Wherever I went, Gulu or Lira, the story was the same. So many children have not known a proper childhood, have lost their innocence early. Many are traumatised for life. The schools have now reopened in some areas, and education can proceed normally.

The problem of street kids risks not being solved, but rather swept under the carpet. The primary teacher I met is one of very few who is aware of the street kid problem, but he knows that feeding a handful of them and listening to their stories, fears and worries, is not the solution. Nor is the establishment of official government-run centres, which did not work in Kenya. They have run away from a home where they were abused, neglected or underfed; they are looking for something better, and won't stay put until they find it. Centres run by caring individuals, faith-based not-for-profit organisations which have a homely atmosphere, and from where they can attend school, are the immediate solution.

What is needed now are people ready to volunteer to restore these children to normal life, before the number of street kids grows, and becomes a real menace.

Martyn Drakard, Author is a Kenyan freelance writer and journalist

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